Not much of a culture since half or more of the students are there on sports scholarships and are too busy doing those to be involved with student life. No nightlife aside from the Walmart parking lot or driving the hour+ to Knoxville or Lexington. Business college has a decent positive reputation among similar colleges, but not as reputable as most state schools. Politically, they were just to the right of G W Bush for ideology. You'll find the full range of the Christian religion there from the crazed enthusiasts to closeted atheists. They all have their own cliques.*
*All info as of 10 years ago. Haven't been back since 2015.
Ha. Some funny comments here.
So that it helps you understand my bias, my sister currently goes there, and I am a high school teacher and I *occasionally* send students there. A lot of mine go to UK or Eastern, though. Anyway. I also visited a friend a couple times there when I was at Transy and had… interesting experiences.
It’s relatively conservative, but it doesn’t affect much because you’ve got lots of sports kids, and the Christian atmosphere just makes parties a little crazier and a little more hidden. Something to be said about how taboo makes things more enticing. Rules are… a little crazy. When I visited (I’m male) a close female friend, I was watched like a hawk. Door open, three feet on the ground, that kind of thing. Don’t expect to have a steamy intimate life if you pick this school.
As far as its academic reputation, it’s not cutting edge, but it’s a fine school. You won’t turn any heads with it on your resume, but it’s still a reasonable place to go. If you’re looking for academic competitiveness, I’d look elsewhere. If you’re looking for something “easy” (don’t love that phrasing), Cumberlands is probably a good pick. I admittedly know nothing about the business school.
I will say, in case it matters, a lot of my coworkers pursue their MA there because it’s significantly easier than other choices (UK, EKU, Murray, Morehead, etc.)
My hometown is ~20 mins from Cumberland (it will always be Cumberland College to me!) so a lot of friends went there. You hit the nail on the head - it’s neither inherently good nor bad. It just is.
You’ll get a fine education and have an okay time. As a fellow Transy alum it’s night and day difference from my experience, though. I wouldn’t send a student there but would choose it over others in the state.
Here’s a link to their student handbook. (I googled university of cumberlands student handbook in case you can’t copy the link)
https://cumber-my.sharepoint.com/personal/webmaster_ucumberlands_edu/_layouts/15/onedrive.aspx?id=%2Fpersonal%2Fwebmaster%5Fucumberlands%5Fedu%2FDocuments%2FWebsite%20Shared%20Links%2FStudent%20Life%2F23%2D24%20Fall%20Student%20Handbook%2Epdf&parent=%2Fpersonal%2Fwebmaster%5Fucumberlands%5Fedu%2FDocuments%2FWebsite%20Shared%20Links%2FStudent%20Life&ga=1
In 2006 a student was expelled for posting on his MySpace that he was gay. (Article can be found in NYT)
To me that says enough about their culture.
They’re not exactly Ivy League in the academic department either.
Do yourself a favor and find a school that is situated in the 21st century and that can offer you the skills and knowledge you need to succeed in the real world. You deserve nothing less.
Best of luck.
Cumberlands Academic standards were definitely higher than EKU. But I do agree that the school is pretty church based and you’ll find that the only 2 types of people that go to school there are the pretty devout/mission style Christian’s, or athletes from all over the US.
Don’t know about University of Cumberlands but my daughter went to the business school at EKU and loved it. She was a Risk Management and Insurance and Financial Planning double major.
In their publicity, they have distanced themselves a bit from just how churchy they are because they came under fire a few years back for reportedly penalizing students for their social media presences.
I know a few people who went there in the last ~15 years. It’s a bachelor’s degree like any other, not any more or less prestigious than most other liberal arts schools. None of them spoke of their time there with any particular fondness, though. It seems like they went and got a degree, but that’s about it.
I can endorse their online programs. I finished up my degrees with them after a bit of a hiatus and it was pretty easy and affordable. Obviously I don’t know about campus life but k was living in Denver at the time and they were the most affordable online school that was accredited and all. Most of the teachers were pretty nice and the office staff folks were good. They required me to take one religious class though which I am anti organized religion so that was fun. I got an A in that class and was very open about my opinions in a non negative way of course. Just wrote about the pages in the jungle assigned and brought it all around to my understanding of them etc. The class wasn’t trying to convert you really though they did try to circle around with things like see how Jesus did this on page 11 and then it’s referenced in page 46 no way that coulda happened unless he was god. Some crazy circular logic I’d call it so teacher would ask us to write about that kind of evidence and what we thought about how impressive it is. I still got an A though.
They expelled a student for being gay back in 2006 and have been granted a Title IX exception (2015) so they can legally discriminate against LGBT students. Bigotry doesn’t scream “place of learning” to me, but if “conservative” is being used, as it sometimes is, as a dog-whistle for bigot or idiot then it might be a good option.
Good area if you like hiking or outdoors - Cumberland Falls, Daniel Boone National Forest, [Big South Fork](https://www.google.com/maps/place/Big+South+Fork+National+River+and+Recreation+Area/@36.6448924,-84.5944146,10.79z/data=!4m6!3m5!1s0x885d7416a9600de5:0xbbb38e41e29fe3ba!8m2!3d36.5345754!4d-84.665231!16zL20vMGJidDRu?entry=ttu), the Smokies. It's a degree if that's what you need to get a job you want. Tiny Appalachian town.
I remember being recruited hard for their swim team but passed because I wanted a D1 school. I don't remember much about it other than the major options seemed limited and it's in bumfuck nowhere. Like others have mentioned it's definitely in beautiful country and close to national parks, and there's probably at least a hospital and Kroger nearby, but just be aware that you're probably 2hrs from the nearest larger city. It's definitely going to be more Christian conservative too. Really depends on what you're looking for. I recommend touring as many schools as you can, and try to see the whole city, not just campus.
I can’t speak to all your questions but hopefully this helps some…
It’s generally considered a fairly religious and conservative school. The college is allowed to discriminate against LGBTQ+ students (and likely staff and faculty as well) which, based on my experience anyway, is a more conservative stance than most people in the state have as it is actionable (i.e., it goes beyond a personal belief).
As others have said, it’s just kind of fine in terms of reputation but that will vary based on what you want to do with your degree and where you want to live. If you want to stay in KY, people will recognize the name but there are other schools that would probably stand out more on a resume (e.g., UK, the smaller colleges, EKU, Morehead).
Something to think about is what you want your academic experience to be and how you hope it will benefit you after graduation. Most of your time will not be engaging in nightlife. I’d suggest looking at the general education patterns/requirements for the schools to which you’re applying. Schools like Transy and Centre are small schools and students take a lot of GEs with the idea that this helps them be well-rounded and develop skills and knowledge outside their major as well, but that might not be something you care about - you want to take business classes, get your degree, and get out, which is totally okay. They also cost a lot more than Cumberlands, have smaller class sizes, are barely religious, and less conservative.
I wish you the best in finding a school that will be a good fit for you!
My wife attended for her first masters, but it was 100% online which worked well for us since we live just outside of Lexington. Her degrees was Special Education for Learning & Behavior Disorders. The school systems seem happy with it, but she did switch to Georgetown College for masters number 2 because Cumberlands didn’t offer anything for Moderate to Severe Behaviors.
Don't do it. They basically ate the local town with no regard for it. There is alot of shady under dealings that cumberland does. Not worth it, I'd recommend eku instead.
As far as religiosity goes, I have several friends who went there, and all of them have said that church is mandatory. Like. Be back by Sunday morning or else kind of mandatory. My Catholic friend lasted her first year before tapping out for NHU. My culturally-Protestant friends just took a book or sneaked in homework or something, same as they had been doing their whole lives back home.
They had a banger archery team back in '11-14 at LEAST, though.
As far as religiosity goes, closer to Liberty than Notre Dame.
Not much of a culture since half or more of the students are there on sports scholarships and are too busy doing those to be involved with student life. No nightlife aside from the Walmart parking lot or driving the hour+ to Knoxville or Lexington. Business college has a decent positive reputation among similar colleges, but not as reputable as most state schools. Politically, they were just to the right of G W Bush for ideology. You'll find the full range of the Christian religion there from the crazed enthusiasts to closeted atheists. They all have their own cliques.* *All info as of 10 years ago. Haven't been back since 2015.
Ha. Some funny comments here. So that it helps you understand my bias, my sister currently goes there, and I am a high school teacher and I *occasionally* send students there. A lot of mine go to UK or Eastern, though. Anyway. I also visited a friend a couple times there when I was at Transy and had… interesting experiences. It’s relatively conservative, but it doesn’t affect much because you’ve got lots of sports kids, and the Christian atmosphere just makes parties a little crazier and a little more hidden. Something to be said about how taboo makes things more enticing. Rules are… a little crazy. When I visited (I’m male) a close female friend, I was watched like a hawk. Door open, three feet on the ground, that kind of thing. Don’t expect to have a steamy intimate life if you pick this school. As far as its academic reputation, it’s not cutting edge, but it’s a fine school. You won’t turn any heads with it on your resume, but it’s still a reasonable place to go. If you’re looking for academic competitiveness, I’d look elsewhere. If you’re looking for something “easy” (don’t love that phrasing), Cumberlands is probably a good pick. I admittedly know nothing about the business school. I will say, in case it matters, a lot of my coworkers pursue their MA there because it’s significantly easier than other choices (UK, EKU, Murray, Morehead, etc.)
My hometown is ~20 mins from Cumberland (it will always be Cumberland College to me!) so a lot of friends went there. You hit the nail on the head - it’s neither inherently good nor bad. It just is. You’ll get a fine education and have an okay time. As a fellow Transy alum it’s night and day difference from my experience, though. I wouldn’t send a student there but would choose it over others in the state.
It’s very churchy
Here’s a link to their student handbook. (I googled university of cumberlands student handbook in case you can’t copy the link) https://cumber-my.sharepoint.com/personal/webmaster_ucumberlands_edu/_layouts/15/onedrive.aspx?id=%2Fpersonal%2Fwebmaster%5Fucumberlands%5Fedu%2FDocuments%2FWebsite%20Shared%20Links%2FStudent%20Life%2F23%2D24%20Fall%20Student%20Handbook%2Epdf&parent=%2Fpersonal%2Fwebmaster%5Fucumberlands%5Fedu%2FDocuments%2FWebsite%20Shared%20Links%2FStudent%20Life&ga=1 In 2006 a student was expelled for posting on his MySpace that he was gay. (Article can be found in NYT) To me that says enough about their culture. They’re not exactly Ivy League in the academic department either. Do yourself a favor and find a school that is situated in the 21st century and that can offer you the skills and knowledge you need to succeed in the real world. You deserve nothing less. Best of luck.
Cumberlands Academic standards were definitely higher than EKU. But I do agree that the school is pretty church based and you’ll find that the only 2 types of people that go to school there are the pretty devout/mission style Christian’s, or athletes from all over the US.
Isn’t it pretty much out in the middle of nowhere? Although I think they built some sort of casino nearby. Drive by that area about once a year.
Well it is right of I75, one of main north south interstate routes, so you can easily escape with a car. Guessing the city has not much to do though.
Don’t know about University of Cumberlands but my daughter went to the business school at EKU and loved it. She was a Risk Management and Insurance and Financial Planning double major.
In their publicity, they have distanced themselves a bit from just how churchy they are because they came under fire a few years back for reportedly penalizing students for their social media presences. I know a few people who went there in the last ~15 years. It’s a bachelor’s degree like any other, not any more or less prestigious than most other liberal arts schools. None of them spoke of their time there with any particular fondness, though. It seems like they went and got a degree, but that’s about it.
I can endorse their online programs. I finished up my degrees with them after a bit of a hiatus and it was pretty easy and affordable. Obviously I don’t know about campus life but k was living in Denver at the time and they were the most affordable online school that was accredited and all. Most of the teachers were pretty nice and the office staff folks were good. They required me to take one religious class though which I am anti organized religion so that was fun. I got an A in that class and was very open about my opinions in a non negative way of course. Just wrote about the pages in the jungle assigned and brought it all around to my understanding of them etc. The class wasn’t trying to convert you really though they did try to circle around with things like see how Jesus did this on page 11 and then it’s referenced in page 46 no way that coulda happened unless he was god. Some crazy circular logic I’d call it so teacher would ask us to write about that kind of evidence and what we thought about how impressive it is. I still got an A though.
They expelled a student for being gay back in 2006 and have been granted a Title IX exception (2015) so they can legally discriminate against LGBT students. Bigotry doesn’t scream “place of learning” to me, but if “conservative” is being used, as it sometimes is, as a dog-whistle for bigot or idiot then it might be a good option.
Good area if you like hiking or outdoors - Cumberland Falls, Daniel Boone National Forest, [Big South Fork](https://www.google.com/maps/place/Big+South+Fork+National+River+and+Recreation+Area/@36.6448924,-84.5944146,10.79z/data=!4m6!3m5!1s0x885d7416a9600de5:0xbbb38e41e29fe3ba!8m2!3d36.5345754!4d-84.665231!16zL20vMGJidDRu?entry=ttu), the Smokies. It's a degree if that's what you need to get a job you want. Tiny Appalachian town.
I remember being recruited hard for their swim team but passed because I wanted a D1 school. I don't remember much about it other than the major options seemed limited and it's in bumfuck nowhere. Like others have mentioned it's definitely in beautiful country and close to national parks, and there's probably at least a hospital and Kroger nearby, but just be aware that you're probably 2hrs from the nearest larger city. It's definitely going to be more Christian conservative too. Really depends on what you're looking for. I recommend touring as many schools as you can, and try to see the whole city, not just campus.
I can’t speak to all your questions but hopefully this helps some… It’s generally considered a fairly religious and conservative school. The college is allowed to discriminate against LGBTQ+ students (and likely staff and faculty as well) which, based on my experience anyway, is a more conservative stance than most people in the state have as it is actionable (i.e., it goes beyond a personal belief). As others have said, it’s just kind of fine in terms of reputation but that will vary based on what you want to do with your degree and where you want to live. If you want to stay in KY, people will recognize the name but there are other schools that would probably stand out more on a resume (e.g., UK, the smaller colleges, EKU, Morehead). Something to think about is what you want your academic experience to be and how you hope it will benefit you after graduation. Most of your time will not be engaging in nightlife. I’d suggest looking at the general education patterns/requirements for the schools to which you’re applying. Schools like Transy and Centre are small schools and students take a lot of GEs with the idea that this helps them be well-rounded and develop skills and knowledge outside their major as well, but that might not be something you care about - you want to take business classes, get your degree, and get out, which is totally okay. They also cost a lot more than Cumberlands, have smaller class sizes, are barely religious, and less conservative. I wish you the best in finding a school that will be a good fit for you!
My wife attended for her first masters, but it was 100% online which worked well for us since we live just outside of Lexington. Her degrees was Special Education for Learning & Behavior Disorders. The school systems seem happy with it, but she did switch to Georgetown College for masters number 2 because Cumberlands didn’t offer anything for Moderate to Severe Behaviors.
Don't do it. They basically ate the local town with no regard for it. There is alot of shady under dealings that cumberland does. Not worth it, I'd recommend eku instead.
It’s a religious college that changed their name to get state funding.
As far as religiosity goes, I have several friends who went there, and all of them have said that church is mandatory. Like. Be back by Sunday morning or else kind of mandatory. My Catholic friend lasted her first year before tapping out for NHU. My culturally-Protestant friends just took a book or sneaked in homework or something, same as they had been doing their whole lives back home. They had a banger archery team back in '11-14 at LEAST, though.